HL Deb 27 September 2000 vol 616 cc164-5WA
Lord Bradshaw

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many staff were employed by the Vehicle Inspectorate during each of the last five years and what proportion of these have been involved in enforcement duties concerning lorries. [HL3761]

Lord Whitty

The average number of Vehicle Inspectorate employees for each of the last five years and the proportion of those examiners involved in frontline enforcement duties concerning lorries (Heavy Goods Vehicles) is set out in the table below. These are backed up by administrative staff whose support activities cannot easily be broken down by type of vehicle.

Lord Whitty

The Vehicle Inspectorate's "out of hours" data are collected for the period between 19.00 hours to 06.00 hours Mondays to Fridays and the whole of Saturdays and Sundays.

The number of lorries weighed in these periods on Mondays to Fridays is 1,686.

Lord Bradshaw

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many lorry weight checks were carried out by the Vehicle Inspectorate and other agencies during the last year for which figures are available between 18.00 hours and 06.00 hours on Fridays to Mondays. [HL3763]

Lord Whitty

The Vehicle Inspectorate's "out of hours" data are collected for the period between 19.00 hours to 06.00 hours Mondays to Fridays and the whole of Saturdays and Sundays.

The number of lorries weighed on Saturdays and Sundays is 6,580.

Lord Bradshaw

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many sites in England and Wales would be involved if it were a requirement to weigh the axles of every HGV exceeding 30 tonnes leaving major road freight facilities, ports or premises with a throughput of more than (a) 20,000, (b) 30,000, or (c) 50,000 vehicles a year. [HL3760]

Lord Whitty

The information requested is not held centrally. In the context of Amendment No. 410 to the Transport Bill, DETR officials estimated, after consultation with the industry, that there were at least 100.000 sites in the UK with an annual throughput of 10,000 or more lorries over 7.5 tonnes. This estimate included HGV operating centres, depots, distribution centres, motorway service areas and retail and industrial parks but excluded, for example, construction sites. We have no information other than this. However, in order to give you the fullest response, I have asked DETR officials to again consult with the industry to estimate the number of sites registering the alternative throughputs of vehicles given.